Cabinet approves MoU on Anandpur Sahib-Shri Naina Devi Ji Ropeway

Himachal Pradesh Cabinet, which met here today under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister, today, granted approval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the Governments of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab on June 27, 2011, to construct a ropeway connecting prominent shrine of Naina Deviji in Himachal Pradesh with Anandpur Sahib in Punjab.

Cabinet approved that there would be one composite project proposal to be approved by a Committee consisting of representatives of Government of Himachal Pradesh which should include Principal Secretary (PWD) and Deputy Commissioner, Bilaspur, as Members, in the Ropeway Monitoring Committee. All Project Development Costs (preliminary costs) of the proposal are to be initially borne by the respective State Governments within their territory and the Project shall be bid out and all Project Development Costs to be recovered from the qualified bidder. No subsidy or grant will be paid by the Government of Himachal Pradesh. Bidding parameter shall be based on revenue sharing by the developer and further shared between the two States in proportion to land required for the project or preliminary expenses borne by the States. The sharing of the profits/returns/rentals would be in proportion to the investments made by each State.

It decided that compliance of local laws, study of all clauses of MOU, Authority for fixing of rates of passenger tickets for using ropeway, resumption of assets on completion of concession period, shall be part of the composite proposal to be approved by the Committee. The reversion and the lease period would be for a period of 40 years, as applicable in other ropeways in the State, mandated by the State Government. Decisions of the Project Ropeway Monitoring Committee must be consensus and both States would concur. Ropeway regulations of both the States shall be interpreted in a harmonious manner. The liability of the State Government for land will be limited to the actual requirement of the ropeway project.

The News Himachal seeks to cover the entire demographic of the state, going from grass root panchayati level institutions to top echelons of the state. Our website hopes to be a source not just for news, but also a resource and a gateway for happenings in Himachal.